Donald Arnold (USC)

Thomas Blanpied (University of Maryland)

Ed Boyden (MIT)

Robert Campbell (University of Alberta)

Adam Cohen (Harvard University)

Yves De Koninck (Laval University)

Daniel Dombeck (Northwestern University)

Vivian Gradinaru (Caltech)

Elizabeth Hillman (Columbia University)

Na Ji (HHMI | Janelia)

Richard Kramer (UC Berkeley)

Edwin Levitan (University of Pittsburgh)

Joshua Levitz (Cornell University)

Marie Burns (UC David)

Loren Looger (HHMI | Janelia)

Evan Miller (UC Berkeley)

Dalibor Sames (Columbia University)

Spencer Smith (UNC Chapel HIll)

Lin Tian (UC Davis)

Ryohei Yasuda (Max Planck Florida Institute)

Jin Zhang (UC San Diego)

Xiaowei Zhuang (Harvard University)

The 2017 symposium will bring together ~175 scientists who are developers and users of new optical tools for understanding biological function, both in normal physiology and in disease.  Optical methods are having an increasingly huge impact on physiology, particularly pertaining to the nervous system.  From the invention of new probes for visualizing and manipulating cell physiology, to the invention of new types of microscopy, the optical revolution is transforming physiological study at every level of complexity, from membranes to cells to intact organisms. The significance of the optical revolution is clear:  today’s breakthrough optical technologies will turn into tomorrow’s cutting-edge tools for diagnosing and treating human disease. This includes the possibility of optical high-throughput drug screening on cells from individual patients with rare diseases. 

The Symposium will focus on four aspects of the optical revolution:  

1.      new optical technologies for imaging and manipulating individual protein molecules,  

2.      new optical probes for imaging and manipulating signal transduction and membrane trafficking, 

3.      new optochemical and optogenetic tools for sensing and manipulating electrical activity

4.      implementation of optical approaches for in vivo imaging and manipulation